Rating: 
Summary: Entertaining and insightful
Review: As I read this book I felt that Ms. Thomas was sitting in an easy chair across the room from me telling me an interesting story of her life covering the White House. The book gives an indepth, behind the scenes, view of covering the the White House, presidents, first ladies and families. Ms. Thomas explains many of the feelings and emotions that were not necessarily the stories but went along with the events. This is a very enjoyable book to read. I felt as though Ms. Thomas made me part of those exciting times.
Rating:
Summary: Great read! Interesting insights on 8 presidencies.
Review: Helen Thomas tells her story of nearly 40 years at the White House with a great balance of history, personal experiences, and humor.Ms. Thomas is a fine writer who keeps the reader engaged in wanting to learn more about the office of the presidency from a behind the scenes view, the role of the media, the presidents' family life, and Ms. Thomas' own experience in becoming a Washington institution. It has altered how I view certain presidents, especially LBJ. I have also gained a new perspective on the media's role as a check and balance on our government (well, at least the responsible journalists). I was surprised at how quickly I finished the book. Well done!!
Rating: 
Summary: A Kinder Gentler Side to Her
Review: I have always assumed that this author would write a book that was full of nasty one liners and little back biting comments. I got that impress just because I have always felt her questions were very brash and aggressive (not that I have any problem with that). It turns out that the book had none of this aggressiveness. As a matter of fact I thought she went easy on all of the Presidents and First Ladies that she covered. The book started out with a rather dull, at least for me, run down of her life up to covering the White House. I was only interested in the White House coverage so this Bio bit of the book was mostly skipped by me. The author laid out her recollections in a nice way. She first covered all the major events within each administration in chronological order. She then did the same for the Press Secretaries, First Ladies and then the Presidents. All of it was interesting with a good number of details about the individual people involved. She had a lot of stories to tell and they filled the book up nicely. Again my only complaint was that it seemed to me that she pulled some of her punches. She really did not give Nixon a lot of trouble for Watergate nor Reagan for Iran-Contra. I thought she was toughest on Clinton, but that could be due to my own likes and dislikes of the Presidents in question. Overall I liked the book and found it easy to read and full of new facts.
Rating:
Summary: A Kinder Gentler Side to Her
Review: I have always assumed that this author would write a book that was full of nasty one liners and little back biting comments. I got that impress just because I have always felt her questions were very brash and aggressive (not that I have any problem with that). It turns out that the book had none of this aggressiveness. As a matter of fact I thought she went easy on all of the Presidents and First Ladies that she covered. The book started out with a rather dull, at least for me, run down of her life up to covering the White House. I was only interested in the White House coverage so this Bio bit of the book was mostly skipped by me. The author laid out her recollections in a nice way. She first covered all the major events within each administration in chronological order. She then did the same for the Press Secretaries, First Ladies and then the Presidents. All of it was interesting with a good number of details about the individual people involved. She had a lot of stories to tell and they filled the book up nicely. Again my only complaint was that it seemed to me that she pulled some of her punches. She really did not give Nixon a lot of trouble for Watergate nor Reagan for Iran-Contra. I thought she was toughest on Clinton, but that could be due to my own likes and dislikes of the Presidents in question. Overall I liked the book and found it easy to read and full of new facts.
Rating: 
Summary: Waste of a day
Review: I never really enjoyed her work and this did nothing to change my opinion. Just another annoying liberal with a mediocre book.
Rating:
Summary: white house years
Review: I wanted to give this book at 5 star rating but the first two thirds of the book are written too much in the style of a quick note taking journalist and I found the writing needing of more narrative. The ' I was there and they thought I was a female tiger amongst men' message over and over again gets tired after a while. The photos of the author with the presidents are ok but Ms. Thomas should have included those moments in history that she was a part of, Nixon's resignation, Clinton intern scandal, Reagan--Iran-Contra, etc. Ms. Thomas' final third of the book is excellent. The writing changes. She elaborates and the book excels.
Rating:
Summary: Wow!
Review: I'm a fan of the tv show "The West Wing" and started reading this book to find out what the press corps is really like. This book has made me feel like I was there and gives the reader a 'backstage pass' to find out who the people who have been in the White House really are. She also gives some 'behind the scenes' information and her takes on the men who have filled the oval office since her time. Thomas also talks about how the press corps WAS before it was modernized. Even if you don't like her personally, this book is just so interesting to read.
Rating:
Summary: A Must Read for Political Afficionados
Review: If you are looking into a behind-the-scenes look at how the White House interacts with the press corps, told by the premiere White House reporter of all time, this is the book for you. Thomas tells her wonderful story in an easy-to-read style that makes this book very, very hard to put down. I read it in less than two days. This will make a valuable addition to any political buff's library.
Rating:
Summary: It's a joy to read.
Review: The hours that I spent reading Helen Thomas' book have been a joy. If Helen has been re-reading her book, she must have filled in many more stories that have not been told. What a life Helen has had! As I was reading the book, I felt like going into the press room doing the routine of a White House correspondent every day and I could imagine the closeness that the correspondents had with the Presidents in the early years. "Don't lie" - her advice to any President. I hope journalists of today would follow her example of trying to be factual and objective, a quality that has been lost in the quest for circulation. The book has aroused my interest in the life of White House correspondents so much so that I have made a lot of efforts trying to track down "Thank You, Mr President" written in 1946 by Helen's colleague Merriman Smith. I have just started reading "some of the things that were overlooked in the big news of the day" as told by Smitty.
Rating:
Summary: Fabulous Insights From a First Class Lady
Review: Wonderful to read this chronicle of the life and times of Presidents and how they deal with the White House Press. Great sense of continuity of the office and challenges across several different presidential styles and terms. I understand what the author means when she writes that she is in awe of the office but not of any particular holder of the office (her description is much better). Her writing style is informative and warm. Had quite a number of laughs and new understandings during the reading. Great Book! Well Done!! Read every word, raced through it! Must reread.
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